Prabhupada's Dog

[krsna]

Appreciations of Sridhar Maharaja

A talk by Niranjana Swami

on the Appearance Day of Srivasa Thakur

Posted March 23, 2004

 

I'm always happy to come to Kiev, especially here at the Sunday Feast and see that there are always new faces coming to hear about Krsna. This is always very inspiring for me to see.

 

Although I am going to speak about a few different subjects, hopefully we will be able to connect them to Krsna, because ultimately any topics that are connected to the Lord are beneficial for everyone to hear. As explained by Suta Goswami, only questions and answers that are related to Krsna will be able to fully satisfy the self. But connected to Krsna, one will always see that He is surrounded by many devotees. To discuss the devotees of the Lord are also topics that are related to Krsna.

 

Today happens to be the appearance day of Srivasa Thakur. So we hope to have an opportunity to speak a little bit about that. But today also happens to be another day, which I haven't been able to fully digest, and therefore I beg your forgiveness if I become emotional, because at 6:15 AM my Godbrother H.H. Sridhar Maharaja left this world. So it is also his disappearance day, and he was a very dedicated servant of Srila Prabhupada. He gave his life to serving Srila Prabhupada's mission.

 

Although we were expecting it because about four weeks ago he was told by doctors that he had cancer, still somehow we were thinking that he was going to fight it. I was just on the phone with him yesterday. I called him in India. He was in Mayapura, and we spoke for about 20 minutes. Sridhar Maharaja is always positive, and at that time during our conversation he was telling me that he had plans to travel and preach, but he begged me to please convince him to keep up the faith that he could possibly do it. Of course, there were also times when he would resign himself, saying, "Well if Krsna wants to take me then that's my fate. I'm ready to go whenever He desires to take me."

 

Sridhar Maharaja was known as the Jolly Swami. He was always laughing and smiling. His disposition was always that of somebody who was very positive and happy to be serving his spiritual master.

 

Every evening for the last several weeks he was hearing about Srila Prabhupada from Hari Sauri Prabhu's diary. Hari Sauri would go into Maharaja's room to read for some time, even up to two hours. And then after finishing reading from Hari Sauri's diary Maharaja would usually ask me to chant. So practically every evening for the last three weeks, up until just about a week ago, I was chanting in his room. And he would personally tell me that, "I have no taste for chanting the holy name of the Lord."

 

And then he would say, "I know that you are going to say something to try to counter that statement, but it's the truth. Don't say a word. Just be quiet and listen to me."

 

He said, "I have no taste. But if I'm here to try to prepare myself for giving up this body, I have to develop some taste."

 

So he begged me, "So please, you will come here and chant?"

 

And I said, "Maharaja, I have no taste, either."

 

And then he said, "Well, now I'm going to speak. And you shut up."

 

He said, "When I hear you chanting, then I get some taste."

 

So in this way he would say these things to encourage me to come and chant with him in the evenings. I wasn't able to go every single evening. But usually, whatever program was going on in Mayapura at the evening time, I would just kind of disappear and go up to Sridhar Maharaja's room at around 7:30. And we would sit with many devotees in the room and just have kirtan. There were usually up to 50 devotees in the room. Maharaja usually would be lying on the bed. He was not completely bedridden all the time. But usually in the evening he would be quite exhausted. He had liver cancer, and the doctors would have to come from time to time and drain liters and liters of fluid that would accumulate in his abdomen.

 

One day one doctor came and actually extracted seven liters of fluid. So it was quite exhausting for him. But still every day he would go to the Ganga to take bath. He also took part in the abhiseka ceremony, bathing the new Panca Tattva Deities that were installed in Mayapura. He told me personally that this was the only thing he had left to live for. When we heard him say this, we all became a little bit worried, because after the Panca Tattva installation we were afraid that maybe now he would just decide to leave.

 

This Panca Tattva installation was probably the most amazing event I've ever participated in in my whole life. We can probably speak a little about this, too, because the Panca Tattva consists of also Srivas Thakur, whose appearance day is today. But, anyway, Sridhar Maharaja very enthusiastically participated in that abhiseka ceremony.

 

So as is appropriate on appearance or disappearance days of great Vaisnavas that we should speak a little bit about their lives. And as I said, when we speak about the activities of Vaisnavas, we should somehow try to see how the Vaisnavas' activities are connected to the service of the Lord and therefore they are connected to the Lord.

 

Sridhar Maharaja joined the Krsna consciousness movement, I believe it was in 1969. And in 1971 he went to India at the request of Srila Prabhupada to go and assist in establishing Krsna consciousness in India. He began working on the project in Bombay. Those devotees who know a little bit about the Bombay temple, you know that the conditions were extremely austere at that time. Many devotees were living in a rat-infested tin shed. And Sridhar Maharaja was also staying there at that time. Gradually, he became very instrumental in establishing and maintaining our Bombay temple. He served and preached in India practically right up until the present day. Although most of his preaching was in India, he later traveled and preached in so many other cities throughout the world. Sridhar Maharaja took sannyasa in 1975 from Srila Prabhupada and he continued to preach very vigorously to this day.

 

Although I knew of Sridhar Maharaja in the very early years, I really didn't get to know him personally until I took sannyasa. When I accepted the renounced order of life in 1986, that same year I traveled with Sridhar Maharaja for some time in America. At that time I got the opportunity to appreciate many of his wonderful qualities.

 

Sridhar Maharaja always referred to himself as a company man. It almost sounds a little bit impersonal. He wore a cap that said "Prabhupada's dog." So that may give you a little idea of what Sridhar Maharaja meant by being a company man. Prabhupada used to say that these beads on our neck are our dog collars. He said that when you put these beads around your neck it means that you've accepted a master. So Sridhar Maharaja considered himself to be Prabhupada's dog. Although he referred to himself in that I way, I appreciated just how much depth there was in that conviction, because a dog is always known to be very faithful to his master.

 

Prabhupada even told a story once describing how faithful a dog is to his master. I'm not sure where it's from. Neither can I remember the whole story. If somebody does, maybe you could help me.

 

One time this man had to go out for a short while and left his dog with his child. When he returned he saw that the room was empty, the child was not there and there was a trail of blood leading outside. He rushed outside and saw the dog coming from the bushes it's mouth covered with blood. The man was shocked and assumed that the dog had killed the baby and brought it outside into the bushes. He pulled out his gun, called the dog, and told the dog to sit down in front of him. The obedient dog sat there while his master pointed the gun to his head. He didn't move. He just accepted the order to sit. Then the man shot him and killed him. At the sound of the gun shot, he heard a baby crying inside, ran inside, and found the baby lying under the bed. He decided to go back and follow the trail of blood and saw that the dog had killed a fox and dragged the fox out behind the bushes. He then realized that in actuality what had happenned is that the dog put the child under the bed for protection, and then fought with the fox who had entered the house and endangered the baby.

 

The point is that Prabhupada told this story about how the dog is always faithful to his master, and it helps us to understand a little bit the meaning of the cap that Sridhar Maharaja used to wear which said "Prabhupada's dog". He was always a faithful servant for his master and he was ready to do anything for Srila Prabhupada. He demonstrated that by his life in this movement. He would say, "I'm a company man. I've given everything to this movement. Whatever Krsna provides I will accept, and if He doesn't I will go on serving Srila Prabhupada."

 

Sridhar Maharaja was also very expert in preaching to the Indian community. He spoke fluent Hindi, which he learned while serving and preaching in India for so many years. And while traveling and preaching with him in America in the 80s, I got to see a little bit how he captivated an Indian audience by the way that he preached. Sridhar Maharaja was also very witty. He had a way of preaching that would get people to laugh at themselves, and they wouldn't take offense at his preaching. Sridhar Maharaja would oftentimes preach, especially to the Indians in the West, because many of them had gone to the West looking for greener pastures. Especially during those years in the 70s and 80s, many people were emigrating from India, going to America to look for a better means of livelihood. Of course that was the 70s and 80s. Now during the 90s and after 2000, this is the era that the people from the former Soviet Union have taken over. Eventually everybody in less developed countries thinks that going to America is like going to the heavenly planets.

 

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During this tour with Maharaja, I would often hear Sridhar Maharaja preach very strongly to the Indians, like, "You've come here, you've given up your culture, you've given up your tradition, you've given up Krsna. You've come here to all of these things that are temporary." And then he would start speaking in Hindi. He would get everyone to laugh and would then melt their hearts. He was expert in dismantling their hopes for happiness in the West. And then he would try to induce them to take up chanting. Every lecture I went with him, he would always, at the end of the lecture, get everybody to chant so enthusiastically. So I very much appreciated this quality about him— his expertise in preaching.

 

And I also appreciated how much he had love for his Godbrothers. I was amazed, actually, when he arrived in Mayapura. It was somewhere around February 11th or 12th. At that time, he had been warned by the doctors in Canada. First he was told in Bombay that they found traces of cancer, because he has been suffering from liver problems for many, many years. So he decided to go to Canada, where he was originally from, in Vancouver, and consult with the doctors to see if it was possible for a liver transplant. After a thorough examination, the doctors had told him after some time that the cancer had spread too far and that he could not qualify for a liver transplant. So he said that, "Well, I'm just going to go to Mayapura so that I can be with my Godbrothers and so that I can see the Panca Tattva installation, and I'll just go there to leave my body in the association of all of my Godbrothers." I heard about him from several sources shortly after this and heard that everyone was amazed by his spirit.

 

One day one of the doctors came to him. He was supposed to get his abdomen drained from fluids that day. His abdomen would get very bloated. The doctor placed his hand on his stomach and Sridhar Maharaja turned to a few of us and said, "It's a boy!" His brother was there. In fact, both of his brothers were there. Both of his brothers came from Vancouver to be with him. They were not practicing devotees, but within two weeks, they were both shaved up, with sikhas, chanting in kirtans, and attending programs.

 

In fact, one day, his brother— I became close with his brothers, and one of his younger brothers, Stuart, we were talking outside of Sridhar Maharaja's room, and he was looking at me and said, "You know we are having an unbelievable experience here."

 

So I said, "Yes, you're probably finding a lot of love here, aren't you?"

 

And he said, "Yes, I've never seen such love like this."

 

And he said, "My heart is just melting seeing all of this love that's manifesting around my brother."

 

So I said, "Yes you're very fortunate, because your brother is creating all of this love by his presence right now." That's the first time I spoke to Stuart, actually.

 

And then he just said, "Yeh," and he just threw his arms around me as if we had been close friends for years. He embraced me, and neither of us could let go for a long time. He repeated, "I've never seen such love," and he started to cry.

 

So his two brothers were there when the doctor was examining him. They stayed by his side quite frequently. And at that time, just nobody knew what to expect. But Sridhar Maharaja was also just simply trying to lighten up the atmosphere. His brother was crying at the sight of his older brother, and when Sridhar Maharaja said, "It's a boy," everybody started laughing. His brother switched from tears to laughter. Sridhar Maharaja was artfully dealing with everybody's emotions. He was always trying to take away any emotion that would cause crying. But of course, although he would joke, he was very Krsna conscious as well.

 

One night after I finished kirtan— we had chanted for about two hours and Maharaja was extremely tired, but still during the kirtan, while lying in the bed, he would always put his arms up, and move them like this, like he was dancing. Of course, he couldn't get up and dance, but he would put his arms like this. And then just at the end of the kirtan, Maharaja just sat up and the room was filled with about 50 or 60 devotees. Maharaja then gave the most brilliant, sharp, clear lecture. He spoke for quite some time, how we are not these bodies. His consciousness was so crystal clear. And his lecture was powerful. How many times have we heard that we are not these bodies? But Maharaja spoke with such realization that everybody was just sitting there with their mouths open, as Maharaja was showing not only by his words, but by his actions on how to be detached from the body. His body was looking very frail. His face was a bit emaciated. But he spoke like a lion. And, again, I was appreciating his example.

 

And the other point that Maharaja displayed was that he really showed unconditional love for his Godbrothers. It didn't make any difference what time of the day, who it was, if a Godbrother walked in the door, no matter how tired he was, how sick he was, he immediately stood up, he would throw his arms in embrace around his Godbrother, and he wouldn't let go. And then he would start glorifying. He did this with every single Godbrother, and in Mayapura, during this Gaura Purnima Festival, there were a lot of Godbrothers, probably no less than 100 throughout the festival. And everyone who came in— he would immediately throw his arms around him and just start glorifying him.

 

So then, two weeks ago, one Godbrother, his name is Tridandi Prabhu, he knew this doctor down in Kerala, South India. And this doctor had been very successful in curing cancer patients. So he asked Sridhar Maharaja, "If we can get some kind of treatment for you, would you be willing to take it?"

 

And Maharaja said, "Well, if there's any reason for me to stay, I'll stay. But to tell you the truth, I came here to leave my body. Do you think that there is anything to this doctor?"

 

But Tridandi tried to convince him that he was a good doctor. The doctor was trained in America as an oncologist. He was also an Ayurvedic doctor and also a botanist. So he had many qualifications.

 

So Sridhar Maharaja said, "OK, if you think that he can do something then let him come."

 

So then the devotee arranged for this doctor to come within a few days. The doctor examined him and said to him, "I can cure you. This is not irreversible. You just simply have to follow this diet and take this medicine, and in three weeks you will see some results.

 

Now Sridhar Maharaja likes prasadam. He's always been known as somebody who likes prasadam. He was called the Jolly Swami also because he had a jolly appearance. So the doctor gave him a very restricted diet, and something like that was not easy for Sridhar Maharaja. But the doctor said that, "You should follow this diet and take this medicine for three weeks." It was a very bland diet. So after a few days of following the treatment, Sivarama called from Vrndavana. And he was asking Sridhar Maharaja how he was feeling.

 

Maharaja replied, "Well my lungs are working all right." Because he was having some problems with his lungs, too at that time.

 

He said "My liver seems to be working."

 

Then he said, "But I'm afraid that this diet is going to kill me."

 

Prabhupada was like that also, actually. When Prabhupada was very ill the devotees were trying to restrict his intake of food. And they were giving him very bland food. And Prabhupada said, "Get rid of this. Let us die eating prasadam." Prabhupada also had a similar mood. He didn't like this strict diet.

 

But still Sridhar Maharaja followed it. So, because the doctor felt so confident, Sridhar Maharaja started to feel more confident. So all the Godbrothers who were there in Mayapura started to think, "Well Sridhar Maharaja is feeling so confident." Then it gradually became the time for most of the devotees to leave because the festival was ending. So Sridhar Maharaja was telling everybody, "Hey, don't come in here and say good-by to me. I'm not going anywhere. Get out of here. You should just go do your preaching. Prabhupada wouldn't want you to stay here."

 

To many godbrothers who came in, he said, "Don't say good-by."

 

To me he said, "I'll see you in Moscow." So his disposition completely changed.

 

And before that many of us were thinking, "How can we leave Mayapura?" In fact, earlier I was thinking that, too. I had changed my ticket to stay a few days longer, because I didn't know what was going to happen. Many devotees would ask me, "When are you leaving?"

 

And I said, "Well to tell you the truth, I can't imagine going into the room and saying good-by to Sridhar Maharaja and I can't imagine leaving and not saying good-by to Sridhar Maharaja. So how can I go anywhere?"

 

So I was also thinking that, "Maybe I'll stay a little bit longer to see how Maharaja's health develops."

 

But Maharaja was getting so positive, that he was telling everybody, "Go, Go. Don't come in here and say good-by to me." He wanted everybody to go out and preach.

 

Even when I called him yesterday, Maharaja said, "Why are you wasting your money calling me?"

 

He said, "You have more important things to do with your money."

 

So I said, "Maharaja, it's not my money. It's Prabhupada's money, and you're Prabhupada's dog."

 

So I said, "Don't try to get me off the phone. Let's talk for awhile."

 

So after some talk, he said, "Call me back in a couple of weeks."

 

I said, "Maharaja, I'll call you back in a couple of days."

 

And even yesterday, Maharaja's spirits were good. Although he did say to me, "Please, preach to me to keep the faith to stay here, because my faith to stay is getting a little weak right now."

 

So, of course, it was very difficult for me. I actually wanted to stay in Mayapura, but because he was feeling so positive, and so was I, I decided to leave. And the irony is that I had left Mayapura, and then flew from Calcutta to Bombay. Two days later I got a phone call in Bombay at about 11:15 at night. I was leaving for the airport to fly to Kiev at 11:30. Vraja Kumara dasa called me and told me, "I just spoke to Mayapura dasa, Sridhar Maharaja's servant and Mayapura says that Sridhar Maharaja is feeling distressed right now because his Godbrothers have left, and he feels that it is a rough night for him tonight. He's having difficulty breathing and not many of his Godbrothers are there right now. "

 

So at that particular point, I had to choose either to cancel the flight and go back to Mayapura, although I was leaving to catch my flight literally in 15 minutes, or to leave for Ukraine. I left for Ukraine. And I guess that's why it was a little extra painful for me this morning when I found out that Sridhar Maharaja had left his body at 6:15 this morning in Mayapura.

 

There are many things more we could say about Sridhar Maharaja. He was a very wonderful devotee, and the world is going to experience a great loss. He was a Vaisnava through and through. He had only one attachment. He just wanted to be Prabhupada's dog.

 

Of course as we know there is really no cause for lamentation. "He reasons ill who say that Vaisnavas die when thou are living still in sound. Vaisnavas die to live and in living try to spread the holy name around." (Some difficulty translating and it was taking some time)

 

Vaisnavas don't die. That's the point. They may simply disappear from our vision. But Vaisnavas will always go on, continuing to do what they've done in this world, which is serving the Lord. Of course, we lament for the loss of the association of Vaisnavas. But for the Vaisnavas, themselves, there is no cause for lamentation. So in that sense, that's why we celebrate the disappearance day of great Vaisnavas.

 

Someone might ask, "How is it a cause for celebration?" But it's a celebration because when Vaisnavas depart from our vision they are simply going on to continue their service for the Lord. When Sridhar Maharaja departed he was fully conscious. Devotees were chanting and he was hearing the holy name. He was completely absorbed in meditation on a picture of Prabhupada. Prabhupada's dog. That's all he wanted to see, was Prabhupada. And he departed very peacefully. Devotees who were present with him said that it was a very auspicious departure.

 

So actually, in a sense, we do lament for the departure of a Vaisnava. Just like Srivas Thakur. Right. Today is his appearance day. There is a very wonderful pastime of Srivasa Thakur. Srivas Thakur as we know, he would conduct kirtans every night in his home with Lord Caitanya and His associates.

 

Lord Caitanya would appear in four places. He would appear wherever Lord Nityananda was dancing in ecstasy. He would appear in the altar room of Sacimata. He would appear in the home of Raghava Pandit. And He would always appear when there was kirtan in the house of Srivas Pandit. The Lord would appear in different ways. One way is called "saksat," when he would directly appear. Another was called "avirbhava." He would manifest due to the strong love of His devotees. They would attract him to come. Not everybody would see His presence. But those whose eyes were deeply imbued with love and who had attracted the Lord could see the Lord's presence in His avirbhava form. And He would also appear in the form called "avesa." Avesa form is when He would appear in an empowered person. So Lord Caitanya would appear in the house of Srivasa Thakur.

 

Of course, at this particular time about which we are speaking, He was directly present. And Lord Caitanya would regularly conduct all-night kirtans. He would experience great ecstasy during these kirtans. Only the most confidential associates of the Lord were allowed to participate in these kirtans. Present were Haridas Thakur, Lord Nityananda, Advaita Acarya, Srivasa Pandit, Srivas Pandit's brothers, Srirama Pandit, Srinidhi, Sripati— and so many other associates of the Lord were there. And the Lord, in the presence of these intimate associates would experience such great ecstatic love.

 

But one night, during one of these kirtans, the son of Srivasa Pandit left his body. Present at the time of the son's departure were Srivas Pandit's wife, his brothers, and their wives. And when the son of Srivasa Pandit had departed, many of them felt great lamentation within their hearts. They were crying, very distressed at the disappearance of their close son. Srivasa understood that something had taken place in the other room, so Srivasa walked into the other room and saw that his son had returned to the spirtual world. He then turned around and saw that everyone was lamenting, and immediately chastised them, "Why are you lamenting? Why are you crying like this? Don't you understand? The Supreme Personality of Godhead is here in our home, dancing in kirtan. Anyone who sees His face receives the highest benediction. Anyone who hears His name receives the highest benediction. Why are you lamenting in this way? The Lord is omniscient. He knows everyone's heart. Please give up your lamentation. Otherwise you will disturb the kirtan of the Lord."

 

Srivasa Thakur was thinking that the Lord was experiencing so much ecstasy, but if He saw everybody crying and lamenting then His ecstasy would break. He said, "If you do not give up your lamentation right at this minute, I will immediately tie a rope around my neck and I will drown myself in the Ganges."

 

So Srivasa Thakur preached very strongly to all of his family members to give up their lamentation and go back in the kirtan and smile. And he threatened them, "If you don't, I'll drown myself." So he returned to the kirtan and he was ecstatic, dancing in ecstasy. And everybody else was also dancing, but within their hearts they were lamenting. But all Srivasa could think of was that he did not want to disturb the ecstasy of the Lord. And so the kirtan continued for many hours.

 

Then at one moment, all of a sudden Lord Caitanya stopped, and He came to external consciousness. Because usually when He was in such ecstasy, He would lose external consciousness and would go completely into internal consciousness. So He came to external consciousness and said, "I think that something has happened here in this house," because the Lord could understand what was going on in their hearts.

 

Then Srivasa Thakur immediately spoke up. "Oh Lord, how can there be anything lamentable in my house? You are present. I am seeing Your face. You are dancing in such bliss! Everyone here is so blissful. What could be the cause for lamentation? Nobody can be lamenting."

 

And Srivasa Thakur was trying to convince Lord Caitanya that, "Nothing is going on here. Please continue. Chant! Dance! Ecstasy! Ecstasy!" But gradually Lord Caitanya could understand and others began speaking.

 

They said, "Oh Lord, Srivasa's son has departed from this world.

 

And Lord Caitanya said, "What? Tell me, when did it happen? How long ago?"

 

The devotees said, "It happened about seven and a half hours ago. But Srivasa, not wanting to disturb your ecstasy, told us all to keep it within our hearts."

 

When Lord Caitanya heard this he began to cry. He understood how much love Srivasa had for Him. And He said to Srivasa, "How is it possible that you have so much love for Me that you don't even know grief for your departed son?"

 

So Lord Caitanya then went into the other room and He saw that Srivasa's son had departed. He approached the son, and He asked, "Tell me, why did you leave?" And everyone was gathered around. Srivasa was gathered there, all his family members were gathered there. So the Lord arranged for the living entity to appear back in the body of Srivasa's departed son. And then the son began speaking.

 

He said, "Oh, my Lord. The destined time for my life span in this world is now exhausted. Now it is time to depart from this world and go on to my next destination. Who is anyone's son? Who is anyone's father? We are all living beings meant to go on in our journey from one body to the next. Oh my Lord, I simply pray to Your lotus feet. Please forgive me for any offenses I may have committed in your presence, and please allow me to continue to my next destination."

 

And then he stopped speaking. Everyone that was standing there was overwhelmed. Through the mouth of this young boy, they were all given appropriate instructions, and they could all understand that the living entity that was in the body of Srivasa Thakur's son was simply returning back to the spiritual world. Lord Caitanya arranged this simply to remove everyone's lamentation. The Lord does not like to see lamentation within the heart of His devotee. So He instructed everyone through the mouth of the departed son of Srivasa Thakur. And when they heard all of these instructions, all of them, folded their hands, they bowed down, touched the lotus feet of the Lord and began offering prayers. "Oh Lord, You are our father, You are our son, You are everything to us. Simply by Your presence we are feeling such great happiness," and they began many wonderful prayers in gratitude to the Lord. Then all the proper rites were performed for the departed son of Srivasa Thakur, and everyone's lamentation was completely dispelled.

 

Then Lord Caitanya turned to Srivasa Thakur, and He said again, "Srivas, how can I ever give up the association of one who has so much love for Me? One who does not even know grief for the loss of his own son? From this day, both Nityananda and I— We will become your sons. You will never know suffering. All those who ever see you will also never know suffering. Simply by seeing you all their suffering will go away."

 

In this way, Lord Caitanya gave the benediction to Srivasa. Because Srivasa was so devoted to the Lord, the Lord blessed him.

 

The Lord also made an arrangement to help us, to remove our lamentation. Just by the instructions that were given by the departed son of Srivasa, and by the instructions that were given by Srivasa to his family members, we can understand that there is no cause of lamentation for the loss of our dear godbrother Sridhar Maharaja. He departed on the Appearance Day of Srivasa Thakur. He departed in Sri Mayapur Dham. He departed surrounded by devotees chanting the Holy Names of the Lord. And He departed in full consciousness. So how can there be any cause for lamentation for him? Certainly, he achieved the fulfillment of all his desires.

 

So today we are experiencing both the Appearance Day of Srivas Thakur and the Disappearance Day of His Holiness Sridhar Maharaja. And on the strength of remembering both and remembering their instructions and examples we've been able to go on speaking. Otherwise, someone even as emotional as me would have too oftentimes broken down and cried at the thought of his departure. So thank you very much. Sridhar Maharaja ki jaya!